While living in Delaware, one of my former responsibilities was working with customers and vendors to confirm if certain products were truly defective or not. One of the last videos I tested was the Tom Petty Documentary. As I listened and watched for specific issues, I was able to learn the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in Runnin’ Down a Dream.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. 25 Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither, but we [do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot wither. 26 Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
As I’m trying to narrow down my final 12 Christian artists that I want to feature in 2023, Lifehouse came to my mind. After spending 30 minutes listening to one of their Greatest Hits compilations, several of the songs struck me as a mellow version of Tom Petty. While their isn’t a Free Fallin’ like Petty, Lifehouse does offer Everything, Hanging by a Moment and Somewhere in Between. I hope you enjoy listening to Lifehouse songs this week.
I was introduced to practical jokes as a child after moving from New Jersey to Delaware. While I can’t take the credit for being the mastermind behind the most successful ones, I became good at playing my assigned role. The most memorable one was faking my friend Stephen’s death, set up by a game of Truth or Dare earlier in the day. However, when my neighbor Hope began bawling her eyes out, I knew we had gone too far.
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. 2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, with his grain money. And [the steward] did according to what Joseph had said. 3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 4 When they had left the city and were not yet far away, Joseph said to his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, Why have you rewarded evil for good? [Why have you stolen the silver cup?] – Genesis 44:1-4
When you grow up with older brothers who sold you into slavery and faked your own death, you might develop some resentment over the years. To those who have been on the wrong end of a practical joke will feel motivated to get even when the timing is right. According to Moses, when Joseph is governor of Egypt, he toys with his brothers. However, when his second practical joke might end up giving his own father a heart attack, he comes to his senses.
And if you take this son also from me, and harm or accident should befall him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow and evil to Sheol (the place of the dead). 30 Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life and his soul knit with the lad’s soul, 31 When he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die; and your servants will be responsible for his death and will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became security for the lad to my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever. 33 Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant remain instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his [half] brothers. 34 For how can I go up to my father if the lad is not with me?—lest I witness the woe and the evil that will come upon my father, Genesis 44:29-34.
Rather than end a practical joke with laughter, Joseph’s emotions got the best of him, Genesis 45:1-2. According to Moses, Joseph sobs like a baby, weeping so loud that officials outside this room could hear him weeping. At this moment, Joseph realized it’s time for the truth to come out, I am your brother Joseph. The next time you get caught up in an amusing practical joke, read the room so that your stunt doesn’t go too far.
As a teenager growing up in Delaware, divorce was a rare word. Out of all of my high school friends, I only knew of a few individuals who had experienced their parents’ relationship fall apart. Yet, as a teacher in a Christian school, it seemed like every week there was a couple who had decided to quit on their marriage. From time to time, students would approach me, bawling their eyes out, afraid of their future at our school and where they would live. I’ve seen with my own eyes souls crushed beyond repair.
And our father said, Go again and buy us a little food. 26 But we said, We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face except our youngest brother is with us. 27 And your servant my father said to us, You know that [Rachel] my wife bore me two sons: 28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. 29 And if you take this son also from me, and harm or accident should befall him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow and evil to Sheol (the place of the dead), Genesis 44:25-29.
Whenever a parent has witnessed their own child suffer harm, this can be heart breaking, especially for a mother. However, in the passage above, Moses writes about a father who had one of his sons die. This one event led Jacob to become extremely protective, not wanting to allow Benjamin to leave his sight. Apparently, Jacob appears to possess a soul that was crushed beyond repair as he was more concerned with Benjamin’s wellbeing than starving to death.
Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life and his soul knit with the lad’s soul, 31 When he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die; and your servants will be responsible for his death and will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became security for the lad to my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever, Genesis 44:30-32.
The book Restoring the Foundations by Becky and Chester Kylstra introduced me to the term Soul/Spirit hurts. Soul/Spirit hurts are wounds to the soul, emotional hurts that individuals have yet to take time to deal with in their lives. As I read the words of Moses, Jacob had not yet overcome the pain of Joseph’s death. As a son of Korah writes Psalm 46:10, it’s a remainder that Christians need to slow down to heal broken hearts and or crushed spirits. May today’s blog help readers allow you to begin this healing process.
Two years ago, due to the ailing health of my wife’s mom, plans were made to move to Aiken, South Carolina. Fortunately, we had time to prepare for this transition from Delaware. As I read God’s call to Abram in the passage below, this was immediate. God didn’t say, “take your time.” Rather, Moses suggests that this move was instantaneous based upon the directions from the Lord.
Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. 3 And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and [a]curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves]. 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran, Genesis 12:1-4.
In 1993, I lived in 6 different states in the first 6 months of this year. I resigned from a youth ministry position in Maryland so that I could attend a Trade School in Minnesota. While waiting for an interview in South Dakota, I spent a month in Ohio living with my parents. When this ministry opportunity fell through, I accepted a teaching position at a Boarding School in West Virginia. At the end of the school year, a dream job opened up for me in Columbus, Indiana.
Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, Isaiah 43:18-19.
God’s providence during this time of transit helped remove from me the fear of the unknown. The moment one door was shut in my face, another one miraculously opened. I was living the famous poem Footprints without ever realizing it. Just before 1993 came to an end, I met my future wife Leanne at a Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago. Thirty years later, God has prepared me by reminding me of the promises in the Bible so that while I’m in transit, the Lord still provides.
When I first started teaching at Red Lion in Delaware, a number of my students tried to update my collection of Christian music. Since I often played songs in class to open up a discussion on a specific topic, a couple of teenagers went out of their way to educate me on up-and-coming artists. One of those songs was Mirror by Barlow Girl, this week’s featured artist.
But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]. 23 For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror; 24 For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like, James 1:22-24.
If you’re a woman and have ever struggled with self-esteem, I highly recommend studying the lyrics of Mirror. Taking a page out of Disney’s Snow White, Barlow Girl addresses your physical appearance in Mirror from a spiritual perspective. The attached you tube features Barlow Girl’s top hits which often sound like a mix of Kelly Clarkson and Saving Jane.
Since I am a visual learner, whenever I study the Bible I tend to recall certain movies or songs that relate to what I just read. Such is the case of Shechem who Moses suggests was smitten by love. Yet, in the back on my mind, I was thinking about scenes from the 1994 American romantic drama When a Man Loves a Woman starring Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan.
And Shechem said to his father Hamor, Get me this girl to be my wife. 5 Jacob heard that [Shechem] had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field. So Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 But Hamor father of Shechem went out to Jacob to have a talk with him. 7 When Jacob’s sons heard it, they came from the field; and they were distressed and grieved and very angry, for [Shechem] had done a vile thing to Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, which ought not to be done. 8 And Hamor conferred with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem craves your daughter [and sister]. I beg of you give her to him to be his wife, Genesis 34:4-8.
Although my movie knowledge has declined over the years, When a Man Loves a Woman is one of the best I have ever seen on the topic of alcoholism. The second season of Joan of Arcadia also does a valent job on addressing this issue. Since I had a good friend from high school whose parents and family members struggled with an addiction to alcohol, bystanders often feel helpless on what to do.
And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was honored above all his family [so, ranking first, he acted first]. 20 Then Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their [enclosed] town and discussed the matter with the citizens, saying, 21 These men are peaceable with us; so let them dwell in the land and trade in it; for the land is large enough [for us and] for them; let us take their daughters for wives and let us give them our daughters. 22 But the men will consent to our request that they live among us and be one people only on condition that every male among us be circumcised, as they are. 23 Shall not their cattle and their possessions and all their beasts be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell here with us. 24 And all the people who went out of the town gate listened and heeded what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male was circumcised who was a resident of that town, Genesis 34:19-24.
Nonetheless, Shechem was so head over heels for Dinah, he was willing to become circumcised as an adult and force his entire male family members to follow his lead. Love makes people do crazy things like my friend from Delaware who converted to Mormonism just to marry his high school sweetheart. Whatever love persuades you to do in the future, make sure you don’t compromise your values as well as your personal relationship with Jesus, Romans 10:9-11.
Sometimes human beings can possess a 6th sense. One day I was driving through a neighborhood in Chicago, stopping to ask someone for directions. In a matter of seconds, my car was surrounded as if I was about to be carjacked. I suddenly jumped on my accelerator, swerved to miss a few people and drove like the wind until I found a crowded gas station. This is my own encounter of when peace can turn violent.
It is in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, Be careful that you do not speak from good to bad to Jacob [peaceably, then violently], Genesis 31:29.
While I was growing up in Delaware, I had a short temper. This unhealthy trait was passed down to me by my father, likely brought on by experiences with a drill sergeant in the Army. I was prone to throw fits of rage when things didn’t go my way. This is on display as a Little League pitcher, especially when I didn’t see eye to eye with the umpire’s strike zone. I could be in a great mood one inning before I felt apart emotionally as a peaceful game turned ugly with violent jeering.
And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. 8 And Cain said to his brother, [b]Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him, Genesis 4:6-8.
The gift of free will can be a blessing and a curse. While God tried to confront Cain about his jealousy, Matthew 5:22, he had already made up his decision. Rather than take a similar passive role in the life of Jacob, God intervened in the form of a dream. This warning altered the actions of Laban in Genesis 31:29, maintaining peace instead of letting human nature turn violent. May today’s passage help you look for a way out of temptation, 1 Corinthians 10:13, so that peace prevails.
Each summer that I lived in Delaware as a child, the neighborhood kids would eventually make their way over to my back deck, listening to WSTW, the local radio station just down the street. Back then, music was limited to the radio as the daily play list often repeated the same songs every hour. As Music Television debuted in 1983, I went over to a friend’s house to get instant access to a variety of artists and groups. Yet, those long summer car rides going to and from vacation is where I was introduced to Simon and Garfunkel thanks to my parent’s favorite soft rock station.
Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [[e]and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord, 20 At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father, Ephesians 5:19-20.
Thanks to friendly Christian bookstore owners like Jackie Johnson from Delaware, I spent countless hours in college asking a similar question, “do you know of anyone who sounds like this secular artist or group?” This is how I discovered Crumbacher and Duke who possess that late 70’s/early 80’s soft rock sound. There’s nothing like falling to sleep with this classic style of music playing in the background. While there are many albums of Crumbacher and Duke to choose from, I hope you enjoy listening to the Worlds Away album this week which contains my favorite Desert Lightning.
When I moved from Chicago to Delaware to attend seminary, my mind was bombarded with so much new information. Some of this content backed up what I already believed, but there were many things that contradicted what I was told as a new Christian in high school. The most practical class that I took was Expository Preaching, based upon the biblical principle of studying the Bible line by line and verse by verse. The purpose of this class was to avoid the temptation of making the Bible say what you want it to say.
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome, Jeremiah 29:11.
There are currently 104 different versions of the Bible which you can purchase. If you’re a pastor doing research for your next sermon, there may be a temptation to quote and use only the versions that highlight this message. Unless there is a member of this congregation who follows in the footsteps of the Bereans, Acts 17:10-11, no one will question what is being taught. Depending upon the current climate in your church, there may be some who are afraid to raise their voice, silently pondering, “that’s not what I was told.”
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you, Philippians 1:6.
One of the reasons why attending seminary is difficult is that Christian’s are forced to re-examine everything they thought they knew about the Bible. Any student who is not fully grounded, Colossians 2:6-7, becomes susceptible to falling prey to false teaching, 1 Timothy 4:1-2. The best perspective for any aspiring student is by falling in the footsteps of C.S. Lewis. While writing Mere Christianity, Lewis refers to progress as the process of arriving. As long as Christians continue to learn by meditating on God’s Word, Joshua 1:8, any disagreements will be ironed out over time.
I grow up in a neighborhood in Delaware where practical jokes weren’t limited to April Fool’s Day. Meanwhile, when I first joined the Boy Scouts, I fell for the old Snipe Hunting trick. I was so eager to catch one, I’m sure the regulars were busting out in laughter once I was out of sight. When Isaac realized that he was tricked into giving Jacob and not Esau his blessing, I can sense his emotions: who, where, what?
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob was scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 Esau had also prepared savory food and brought it to his father and said to him, Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me. 32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he replied, I am your son, your firstborn, Esau, Genesis 27:30-32.
When I was an upperclassman in high school, many of my friends were sarcastic, often speaking in puns to outdo the other. However, playing a trick on your own aging father is what I call going outside the lines. Sure, it may be enjoyable to poke fun at Uncle Joe from time to time, but he’s, our president. Therefore, current events should be taken more seriously so we don’t end up like Isaac’s response to Esau’s return, shocked and stunned.
Then Isaac trembled and shook violently, and he said, Who? Where is he who has hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate of it all before you came and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed. 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father! 35 [Isaac] said, Your brother came with crafty cunning and treacherous deceit and has taken your blessing, Genesis 27:33-35.
Back when comedy was allowed on television, TV fathers would leave subtle hints with their children, “if you keep doing that, I’m going to have a heart attack.” As for Isaac, Moses describes his condition similar to someone about to go pass out. While Rebekah and Jacob’s trick was successful, it was cruel to play on an old man who was nearly senile. This event serves as a reason why children should honor their parents, especially as Father’s Day draws near.
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